Wadah Khanfar Quotes

Israel and America are the only two grievances which may be freely expressed in Arab counties.

In America we don’t apologize for opinions, that’s why we have a 1st Amendment. If we can’t discuss even controversial opinions in the pages of our newspapers, where are we going to do it?

We believe that the remedy to any harm resulting from press freedom lies in press freedom itself.

Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost

No greater or more unwarrantable restriction on freedom of speech or writing is, to our thinking, conceivable than this law of libel and slander.

People have the right to say what they want to.

Journalism is the protection between people and any sort of totalitarian rule. That's why my hero, admittedly a flawed one, is a journalist.

We need a free media, not just freedom of speech.

Marks on paper are free - free speech - press - pictures all go together I suppose.

As to the media, they are protected by the First Amendment, as they should be.

We can never intimidate and discourage the people who voice their words with courage. The essence of freedom rests precisely here - in the freedom of expression of the people. And we must protect it.

News is the backbone of our network; the main commodity and the main successes of Al Jazeera came out of our involvement in covering the news in the Middle East.

Better a thousandfold abuse of free speech than denial of free speech.

Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.

Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.

Free speech means the right to shout 'theatre' in a crowded fire.

Journalism is irrepressible. It can't be taken away.

We need to defend absolutely the freedom of speech.

In this country you can say aloud or publish just about anything you like.

Being a reporter is at the very core of a democracy, being a free person in a free society.

A simple way to determine whether the right to dissent in a particular society is being upheld is to apply the town square test: Can a person walk into the middle of the town square and express his or her views without fear of arrest, imprisonment, or physical harm? If he can, then that person is living in a free society. If not, it's a fear society.

I feel very sad that my personal freedom was taken away like this. I grew up under authoritarian governments in the Middle East, and one of the reasons I chose to move to the U. S. is that I didn’t want an officer to make me change my T-shirt. He said ‘You can’t wear a T-shirt with Arabic script and come to an airport. It is like wearing a T-shirt that reads ‘I am a robber’ and going to a bank.’

My goal for the Arab world is to change the status quo, which is horrible politically, religiously, economically, in every way.

There is a very long history of oppression in the Arab world, particularly in the states he mentions: Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, as well as in Sudan and Tunisia. These regimes are not based on democracy and their legitimacy comes from military dictatorships or inherited systems. The basic right of an individual to voice his or her opinion is not granted in any kind of form in the Arab world.

A free press can of course be good or bad, but most certainly, without freedom it will never be anything but bad.